The ROTSE I experiment is now performing searches for
optical counterparts of gamma-ray bursts coincident with
gamma-ray emission. The telescope images an entire BATSE
error box (a 16x16 degree field) within 10 seconds of burst
onset, to 15th magnitude in V. ROTSE I began continuous,
fully automated operation in March of 1998. We describe the
performance of ROTSE I, and report the first results from a
series of burst responses. These include response times as
short as 6 seconds to a number of bursts detected by BATSE,
some of which were later localized by IPN and Beppo-SAX. We
conclude with prospects for extending this work below 18th
magnitude with ROTSE II.

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